Shimla, May 10 -- Finally, after nearly 7 months air connectivity on the Delhi-Shimla and Shimla Dharamshala routes will resume from Sunday. The air connectivity on the Delhi-Shimla route will resume from Sunday while the Shimla-Dharamshala flights will start from Monday. This comes three days after the Himachal Pradesh High Court questioned the Union government over the exclusion of Shimla from the Regional Connectivity Scheme (UDAN) while observing that the hill state appeared to have been subjected to "step-motherly treatment" in the matter of air connectivity. So now the Alliance Air Aviation Limited is set to resume the Delhi-Shimla-Delhi flight service from May 10. The flights will operate on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Apart from this, the Shimla-Dharamshala-Shimla flight service will commence from May 11, and will operate on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The flight operations are expected to significantly improve intra-state and inter-state connectivity, while also giving an impetus to tourism and economic activities in Himachal Pradesh. Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said, "The state government is committed to promoting tourism and improving regional connectivity across Himachal Pradesh". He said that strengthening air connectivity would go a long way in facilitating tourism and business activities within the state. These new flight services would provide faster, safer and more convenient travel options for residents and tourists alike, while also contributing significantly to the economic growth and tourism potential of the state. On May 6, the Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Bipin Chander Negi expressing concern over the underutilisation of the Shimla airport despite expenditure of Rs 116.70 crore under the Regional Connectivity Scheme, had remarked that the airport could not be allowed to become "a white elephant standing as a sore thumb lit up in the hills." This was during the hearing of a suo motu petition addressing bird menaces at Kangra/Gaggal Airport expanded dramatically on November 11, 2025. The court broadened its scope to scrutinise inadequate flight services across Himachal's three airports: Shimla, Kullu, and Kangra The HC had directed the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation to file a comprehensive affidavit detailing a timeline for restoration of flights to the state capital under the Modified UDAN Scheme-2026 on May 14, when the matter comes up for hearing again. The HC had observed that the earlier UDAN Scheme had expired in October 2025 and no flights had operated on the Shimla sector since then. The Bench noted that Shimla remains the only state capital not connected under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), while all other state capitals have already been covered. During the hearing, Union civil aviation secretary Samir Kumar Sinha had appeared through video conferencing from New Delhi and informed the court that there was a shortage of smaller aircraft such as ATR-42, ATR-72 and Q400 planes. He had assured the Bench that Alliance Air was likely to resume operations from May 21. The court had also taken note of an affidavit filed by the state government stating that, under a memorandum of understanding, Alliance Air had earlier indicated that flights would resume in the first week of May once aircraft were ready for service. Bench had also impleaded Alliance Air Aviation Limited through its managing director as a respondent and directed the airline to file its response and remain present on the next date of hearing. The Bench further directed the Union government to explore the possibility of other airlines operating on the Shimla route and examine whether double-engine helicopters with a seating capacity of 20-25 passengers could operate between Delhi and Shimla. The court had also sought details regarding the use of ATR-42, ATR-72 and Q400 aircraft at other hilly airports, including Pithoragarh and airports in northeastern states, to assess whether similar services were operational elsewhere. Additionally, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has been directed to file a detailed affidavit clarifying when Shimla would be included under the Modified UDAN Scheme, the proposed timeline for restoration of flights and the financial structure of Viability Gap Funding (VGF), including whether the burden would be shared by the Centre and the state government....